MOSCOW 

Despite ongoing US-mediated negotiations for a potential ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine continued launching airstrikes on each other's territories.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday accused Ukraine of deliberately destroying the Sudzha gas distribution station, located just a few hundred meters from the state border in Russia’s Kursk region.

The ministry emphasized that the facility was previously used to transport Russian natural gas to Europe.

"This energy infrastructure site, which once supplied over 40 million cubic meters of gas per day to European consumers, has been under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces since Aug. 7, 2024," the ministry stated.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces had used the facility as a secure logistics hub, believing Russia would avoid targeting it in case gas deliveries to Europe resumed. However, the station was destroyed as Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat, it said.

The ministry further claimed that Kyiv’s actions contradicted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent verbal agreement to support a 30-day moratorium on energy facility strikes, following his phone call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday.

"The bombing of a key Russian energy facility by retreating Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region constitutes a deliberate provocation by the Kyiv regime...to discredit the peace initiatives of the US president," it said.

Despite Ukraine’s actions, the order issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin prohibiting strikes on energy infrastructure remains in effect, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing in Moscow on Friday.

"The order of the supreme commander-in-chief remains in force, and the Russian Armed Forces are currently refraining from attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in accordance with the agreement reached between the US and Russia," he stated.

Separately, the ministry reported that the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, inspected units of the Russian "Tsentr" (Center) group of forces, where he received updates on the battlefield and presented awards.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy accused Russia of launching massive overnight drone attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa, Zaporizhia, Sumy, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernihiv regions.

According to Zelenskyy, more than 200 drones were used in the assault, damaging civilian infrastructure and leaving several people injured.

He urged Ukraine’s allies to increase pressure on Russia, strengthen sanctions, and provide additional defense support.